{"id":59887,"date":"2023-07-21T17:47:00","date_gmt":"2023-07-21T17:47:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arielle.com.au\/?p=59887"},"modified":"2025-07-03T01:05:26","modified_gmt":"2025-07-03T01:05:26","slug":"strategic-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arielle.com.au\/strategic-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"Everything You Need To Know About Strategic Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 14<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

Meet Graham Talbot. His leadership style and career trajectory are far from those of the typical run-of-the-mill CFO. One of the strongest strategic leaders in the energy sector, Graham has a strong track record in leading organisations through major change. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He is proof positive that CFOs must possess strategic leadership skills to influence all aspects of a business \u2013 not just the numbers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Related: Ultimate Guide To Capex For SMBs<\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arielle: Graham, it\u2019s great to see you.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

GT: So nice to be here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arielle: I’d like to learn about your approach to strategic leadership. Let\u2019s start wide. What makes someone a good strategic leader?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

GT: You\u2019re leading strategically if you\u2019re steering your organisation through a material or significant change from the current status quo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The bigger the change, the bigger the leadership challenge.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

While many day-to-day management skills apply to strategic leadership, you also have to flex some very specific muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Interpersonally, you need to be highly inclusive, have strong communication skills, be authentic, resilient and \u2013 ideally \u2013 be a few steps ahead of everyone else.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Related: Is An MBA Worth It<\/a>?)<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Operationally, you need to set the change effort up for success. For me, this starts with defining what the end state will look like.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you can\u2019t articulate your strategic vision in a clear and concise manner, then you probably shouldn\u2019t be in a strategic leadership role.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Most people love the status quo and resist new ideas, so you have to be able to state the case for change in a way that excites and motivates people. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

You need to gain buy-in, then execute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Related: How To Motivate Employees<\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arielle: Easier said than done, right?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

GT: Absolutely. Think about making major changes in your own life, such as losing weight, training for a triathlon, or quitting smoking. There\u2019s no use trying unless you\u2019re in the right state mentally.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you don’t believe this change needs to happen, your chances of succeess are small.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Change in business is much the same \u2013 with the added challenge of influencing the priorities of many, not just one!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Related Article: <\/strong>Best Executive Resume Examples<\/strong><\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arielle: Did you decide to become a strategic leader or “fall into” this path?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

GT: My path as a change leader was not one that I actively pursued. And yet today, I struggle to think of working in a business-as-usual environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As an aside, I think business-as-usual leadership roles are actually becoming unusual anyway.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\u2019ve been fortunate to work with exceptional companies and senior leaders across many cultures. <\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

These experiences enabled me to see, and be involved in, a lot of change. But evolving as a strategic change leader was a real and ongoing learning process.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Related Article: <\/strong>How To Lead Change In The Digital Age<\/u><\/strong><\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arielle: Share an early strategic leadership experience with us.<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

GT: Sure.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many years ago, I was leading a significant global change, and I was very disillusioned with how it was going.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I was travelling around the world with a 100-page slide deck \u2018telling\u2019 everyone what was going to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Back then, that\u2019s how change was done.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I wasn\u2019t enjoying the presentations. The exit surveys were underwhelming. My disillusionment led to me pause the program and look for another way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a big leap of faith, I ended up bringing in an event manager to help me.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We completely reformatted the engagements, introduced music, games, breakouts, posters \u2013 all kinds of visual aids. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It was quite a conservative sector of the business (both above and below), and honestly, I wasn\u2019t sure how it would all go.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fast forward a few months \u2013 engagement and key message retention skyrocketed! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We went from struggling to get people to engage to the opposite.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

What did I learn?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Everyone has a different way of learning \u2013 and with big change, you need to cover all formats of communication \u2013 town halls, newsletters, videos, blogs, etc. And even when you do all of this, some people still will not get it, so you need a safety net for them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Believe it or not, effective leadership and change can be fun!<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

So this was a key turning point for me. Instead of focusing on the \u2018what\u2019, I learned that the real challenge is in getting the \u2018how\u2019 right.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Related: <\/strong>How To Develop A Strong Executive Presence<\/u><\/strong><\/a>).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Arielle: Your role as EVP\/CFO of Maersk Energy would be unthinkably risky for some. How did you wind up in that particular spot?<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

GT: Maersk is a great company. It\u2019s publicly listed, but the founding family still retains control.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They have a long-term perspective on the business, which is very refreshing. And they have very strong values which inform discussions and decisions daily.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When I joined as CFO of Maersk Oil & Gas, our strategic plan was to grow the business.<\/span><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

We had a strong balance sheet, built a strategy around our core strengths and started working on acquisitions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Our big-picture plan involved changes in organisational design, new markets, new technology, you name it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This was mid-2014.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A few months later, the oil price collapsed from over $100\/bbl to under $40\/bbl. This made acquisitions extremely difficult.<\/p>\n\n\n\n